(^66) YOGA AND TOTAL HEALTH • January 2018YOGA AND TOTAL HEALTH • January 2018
sage Pulaha, who in turn taught it to
Gautama. So also Angir taught it to
Bharadvaja, who was well versed in the
technique of the Vedas; and Kapila
taught it to Jagisvya (Panchsikha). My
(referring to Vyasa) father Parashar,
the knower of all truth, received this
supreme knowledge from Sanaka.
From him it was learned by Valmiki. I
heard it of old from the sage born of
Sati (referring to Vamadeva), the great
ascetic, and Rudra who wielded the
Pinaka bow. Lord Narayana who is none
else but the son of Devaki (referring to
Krishna), taught it himself to Arjuna
(on the battlefield of Kurukshetra).
Ever since I received this supreme
knowledge from Rudra and Vamadeva,
I have cherished intense devotion
towards Shiva. You may also seek
refuge with your wives and children in
Lord Shiva, the rider of the bull (Nandi).
- Notwithstanding these traditions,
the authorities on practical yoga,
especially Hatha Yoga, trace the origin
of this culture in the mythological being
Shiva (Yogirajam Shiva). Almost all the
Hatha Yoga writers, in offering their
salutations, refer to the Adinatha, who
is supposed to have started the Nath
Panth (a practical school of spiritual
culture), and is also unanimously
agreed upon as being the originator
of the system of yoga. He is sometimes
referred to as ‘Maheshvara’, and quite
often associated with the Lord Shiva
(Adinatha Sarveshvara Shiva). It is
argued by these authorities that after
undergoing all the various sciences
and means of attaining self-culture
and liberation, Shiva found yoga to
be the only and the highest means of
acquiring Moksha (final emancipation).
He therefore taught the Yogavidya
(Science of Yoga) in its various aspects
first to his beloved Parvati, in her
various forms at the Kailasa (Himalaya)
mountain, and then to the other of his
succeeding disciples. These practices
were thus brought down to earth by
the nine yoga masters (Nathas) who
were the human embodiments of the
spirit of Shiva. In Yogabija, which is
theoretically attributed to Adinatha,
we are given interesting details as to
the nature of origin of Nathamarga or
Nathism. Matsyendra, who is accepted
by the Hatha Yoga authorities to be the
immediate disciple of Shiva, while in
the form of a fish (Matsya), overheard
the secrets of this cult when the
discourse on yoga culture between
Shiva and Parvati was going on. The
other colleagues of Matsyendra,
who received direct instructions
from Adinatha, Nimanathn,
Anandabhairava, Goraksha, Kinanatha,
Sabara and Jalandharinatha. Of
these, Goraksha, who acknowledged
Matsyendra to be his Guru (spiritual
guide) became even more proficient
than him in the technique of the
practical yoga, and thus attracted
quite a number of followers.Apart from this, all the great
personages referred to in the sacred
books of Hindus, especially in the two
epics Ramayana and Mahabharata,
owed their greatness and supernatural
powers solely to the practice of
yoga. Thus we read of Vishwamitra,
Vashistha, Gautama, Angir, Agastya,
Narada, Valmiki, Badarayana, Vyasa,
Saunaka, Bhargava, Kashyapa,
Bharadvaja, (Yogi Yajnavalkyasamhita,
X1, 13-14) Markanda, Marichi, Jaimini,
Parasara, Bhrigu, ( Hathayoga Samhita,
1,2) Buddha, Suka, Yajnavalkya
and Patanjali - the incarnation of
Sheshanaga (Yogakalpadruma, p.2)
as the great Yogins who followed the
path of yoga.